Heroes
by SunshineGirl99
Summary: Heros are supposed to save everyone right? Or at least that's what everyone believes. When this is proved to be a lie, it is revealed how hurtful the truth of life is. Sonamy. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hey Guys! Thanks for clicking on this story! It's my first Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction, and I really hope you like it. For this story's purpose, the characters are meant to be older. More like 24 and 25. I apologize if they're a bit OOC. Also, I would like to say that this story might get a bit emotional, so you've been warned. I also want to say that the beginning of this story might be a bit confusing but it will be explained in the next few chapters. So please just bear with me. Well that's it for now! Enjoy! Please review if you think this story is worth finishing.**

 **I do not own any of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise**

Sonic the hedgehog sighed as took a moment to watch his wife Amy Rose read to his young children. He had just gotten back from his daily run. Being a father hadn't quenched his thirst for speed. Amy glanced up at him and he gave cocky smile. Getting up form his seat, he made his way to the kitchen in search of some chili dogs for a quick snack.

Making himself one, he leaned against the sink. Downing it quickly he grabbed a can of pop that just happened to be sitting on a nearby countertop. Opening it, he looked out the window. It looked as though it was about to rain. He turned and started to head back to Amy.

As he passed the refrigerator, he glanced at the calendar. He stopped, choking on his soda. Regaining his composure, he stared at the date. _October 21st is tommorow._ He thought. _The day my ife changed forever._

Blinking furiously he forced himself to turn around. _It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault but that stupid Eggman's._ He walked stiffly back to Amy and his kids. She looked up, curious. He gave her a fake smile of reassurance. She frowned, not buying it. Sending the children next to her to play in their rooms, she walked over to him.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

He sighed. "Nothing."

She narrowed her eyes. "Don't lie to me Sonic."

"I...I..." He stared at a picture on the wall, inwardly debating wether to tell her or not. _She doesn't need that to ruin her day. On the other hand..._ he contemplated. _She'll obviously be mad if I don't tell her._ He gave a small sad smile. A mad Amy wasn't a force to be reckoned with. Taking a deep breath he began. "It's October 21st tommorow." He paused, gauging her reaction.

"Oh." Her face filled with a sad understanding. "The day..."

She stopped when he put a finger to her lips. "Don't say it. Please." She nodded, watching him in concern.

"It wasn't your fault you know."

"No, I don't know. There were so many things I could've done. So many things I _should've_ done. If I had done those things _that_ wouldn't have happened.

"You don't know that." She argued. "If you _had_ done those things something else would have happened."

"I shouldn't have let it happen! " Sonic said, his voice raising slightly.

"You _didn't_ let it happen! Sonic, if someone else had been in your position, they would have done the same thing." Sonic opened his mouth, fully intending to reply, but what Amy said next stopped him instantly. "If it was anyone's fault it was mine!"

"What?" Sonic asked incredulously. "How was it your fault?"

"I wasn't being careful. If I had been aware of what was happening, the accident wouldn't have happened!"

A look of guilt Sonic had never seen before appeared on her face. _I never knew._ He realized. _She never told me._

"Amy..." he said softly. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known what was coming."

"That's what you have to understand." She stated. "Everybody has guilt about that battle. I do, you do, if you ask our friends, I bet they do too. You can't blame yourself."

He stared at her. "You're smarter than what I give you credit for."

She smiled. "I'm not that lovestruck girl that you used to know." With that she turned around and left him to think on that.

* * *

Sonic stared at the ceiling of his and Amy's bedroom. He didn't know what time it was, but he figured it was pretty late. The soft steady rhythm of Amy's breathing let him know she was in a deep sleep.

He wished he could sleep too. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't. His thoughts wandered to the conversation he and Amy had had earlier. _It wasn't his fault._ It was though. He was supposed to protect people. He had failed during that moment. FAILED. He wasn't supposed to fail. Closing his eyes at the pain of his failure, he fell into an uneasy sleep.

 _He opened his eyes to a grassy clearing. His heart began to beat faster. It couldn't be this. Not again. He tried to move forward, wanting to stop what he knew to be inevitable. He found that he was stuck._ _Panic began to set in. Another thing that he wasn't supposed to do. He wanted to look away but he found that he just couldn't. He watched, transfixed. Suddenly his vision went black. A cry sounded and then there was nothing._

Sonic opened his eyes to find he was back in his bedroom. He was shaking. Sighing, he swiped a hand across his face. _I know what I need to do tommorow._ He realized.

 **What happened on October 21st? Review to find out! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey Guys! Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed the last one! Just a friendly reminder that for the purpose of this story the characters are about 24** **and 25. Also, I want to thank XXKawaiiHeartXX for reviewing.**

* * *

It was about 7:00 in the morning. Sonic was downstairs already prepared for the day. Not even bothering with breakfast, he left the house. Racing along an old dirt path, he came to a small area of grass surrounded by trees. In the middle was a headstone. Slowing his run to a walk, Sonic silently made his way toward the grave.

Kneeling down beside it, he traced a gloved finger along the writing. _A friend and a brother._ It said. _Loved by all who met him._ A deep rumbling sounded above him. Thunderclouds he had noticed yesterday covered the sky. A brisk wind ruffled his blue quills. He ignored all of this, simply staring at the words. A tear slid down his cheek. Then another. He didn't bother to wipe them away. Raindrops fell, mixing with the salty liquid.

"Buddy..." he whispered. "I am so sorry. It wasn't meant to happen this way." Resting his head against the cold stone, he cried. Something he hadn't done since the death occurred.

 _It's always been this way,_ he reflected. Beneath his cocky carefree attitude, the arrogance he carried in his gestures and tone of voice, was a deep sadness. Sadness for the loss of a brother.

Closing his eyes, he allowed the memories to come. After all this time he allowed himself to relive the horrors of that day and night. The truth was that he had been afraid. Scared of the pain. Sonic the hedgehog afraid? Normally he would have scoffed at that. Not now though. Now, he wasn't going to deny it. He knew it was the truth.

As memories entered his mind, he truly felt the agony he had been blocking. The guilt, the loss. He remembered everything. The sights the sounds. He wanted to stop. Wanted to stuff the memories and feelings back into the dark place they had come from. Throwing that idea aside, he pressed on.

* * *

 _5 years ago..._

A pink hedgehog scowled as she wielded a large hammer. Swinging it, she smiled triumphantly as a robot was smashed into nothing more than a piece of metal. Another blue colored hedgehog, was busy shouting insults at a human flying in an egg shaped platform above a large red machine.

"You better watch out Sonic, because this..." the human said, gesturing to the robot, "will destroy you and your friends, once and for all!"

Sonic smirked. "How many times have you told me that Egghead?" Egghead, or Dr. Eggman as he was more commonly known, stayed silent and frowned.

"I'll answer that question for you." Sonic taunted. "A lot! And each time you were wrong. Very wrong." He didn't wait for the doctor to reply as he curled himself into a ball and slammed into the side of the offending object. The robot was knocked backwards a bit, but did not fall.

"Why you..." The rest of Dr. Eggman's response was lost as the hedgehog rammed into the robot yet again.

While the thing was trying to regain its balance, Sonic took a quick second to check on the rest of his friends. Tails, a fox that sported two tails was busy in his own fight with a medium sized, oddly shaped droid. _This battle is as good as finished!_ The blue hedgehog thought. Oh how wrong he was.

A orange light exploded next to him. He looked up quickly. "I forgot to tell you." Dr. Eggman sneered holding a a small box with buttons on it. "This robot is equipped with homing missiles and lasers. Have fun!"

Sonic rolled his eyes, "That's not even the least bit threatening. Even I could invent something more interesting. You really need to step it up."

The doctor glared. "Shut up you stupid rodent! I doubt you even know how to use a hammer properly!" The hedgehog ignored the comment and focused on hitting the robot off balance. He smiled. _One more hit..._ A yell interrupted his train of thought.

"Amy! Watch out!" The sound of Tails' voice caused him to stop.

The pink hedgehog was occupied with two robots and was close to getting run over by a third one. Hearing Tails' call, she turned her attention to the third robot. Now surrounded by three of the offending objects she twirled her hammer in a circle like fashion, planning to take all out at once. Eggman, seeing Amy's intended move, decided to take her out instead. Switching his focus from the blue blur, he turned to the girl.

Carefully aiming, he shot the explosive casing toward a robot next to her. Seeing the missile coming toward her, she dodged, looking over her shoulder expecting to see it land somewhere in the grass beyond. It didn't, instead hitting the object immediately to her left. Her mouth opened slightly as it exploded, immediately sending metallic shards in every direction.

At the sound Sonic immediately whipped around, in time to see a fairly large piece hit her directly in the head. No sound came out of her as she fell to the ground.

Running towards her, he skidded to a stop at her side. Reaching for her hand, he concentrated on checking her pulse. _Thank goodness Tails forced me to learn how to do this,_ he thought. His moment of distraction cost him dearly. Two strong metallic hands grabbed his arms. Twisting vigorously, he tried to remove his arms from their grasp, but with every movement he made, the grasp only tightened. Glancing upward, he saw a large robot. Not as big as the red one, but big all the same.

He glanced around, hoping Tails would come to his aid. Looking for his orange furred friend, his heart sunk. Tails was on the ground, glaring furiously as a large robot pinned him down.

Sonic had no idea how that happened, nor had he any time to think about that. A snort of laughter sounded above him. "Well, well, rodent, I see you've underestimated my ingenious invention."

Sonic gave a grim smile. "Underestimate? Come on Eggman, that wasn't even fair." His voice was higher pitched in an almost whine. He knew the tone was fake, to overcome the anxiousness inside him.

"I wasn't aware that there was a rule book." The doctor retorted. Ignoring the hedgehog's annoyed look, he continued. "Now as you can see Sonic, you and your friends are useless right now. I have won, and now it's time to get rid of you once and for all! You have a choice. Which friend would you like to die first?" He smiled.

"We're not done yet." Sonic growled, struggling against the robot's vice like grip.

Eggman snorted. "That's not what it looks like from here. Now,..." he said, his tone hardening. "either you choose or I choose for you."

"Never."

"I'll choose for you then." The man's gaze hardened as he looked between Tails and Amy. "I think the girl should go first." He chuckled. "It's only polite after all."

Sonic's eyes widened. _This is really happening. There's no way out of this one._ Sonic wasn't one to give up easily. Most people knew that. "Wait." His eyes hardened. He wasn't stupid. He knew when to give in.

The doctor looked at him. "What!"

Sonic's eyes darted around, looking for a way to stall.

"Choose me first." Eggman turned his head towards the voice. It came from Tails. The fox wore a grim expression on his face.

"No!" Sonic refused to let one of his friends die. He looked at Eggman. "Kill me. Let Tails and Amy go."

The doctor let out a harsh cackle. "You don't see the point do you Sonic? Before I kill you I want you to watch you're friends deaths. That way you can die watching the fear and terror on thier faces knowing it was because of you!"

The hedgehog's eyes had lost all emotion. "Choose me!" He pleaded. "Amy and Tails have done nothing to deserve this!"

Before Eggman had a chance to answer, another one spoke. "Sonic. Let it go. We're going to die anyway." Tail's normally bright voice was void of any emotion. The fox then turned toward the doctor. "Kill me first."

The human smiled. "I'm feeling nice today. Is that what you truly want fox?"

"Yes."

The doctor gave a smile, finger inching toward a button.

* * *

 **Well that's the end of that chapter! I apoligize for its shortness. Please review, but no flames please.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm BACK! The next chapter is here! Don't forget to leave a review that lets me know what you think!**

 **I do not own any part of the Sonic franchise.**

* * *

As Eggman's finger moved toward the buttton, something came over Sonic. With strength he had never thought he had before, he wrenched his arms away from the robot holding him. Running toward the flying platform Eggman was standing on, he curled into a ball and slammed into the side of it. Eggman was thrown off balance. His finger hit multiple buttons on the remote. The missile launched, but the robot's aim was off. Sonic hoped it was enough to save Tails. Even so, he raced to his friends' aid.

However, for once his speed was not enough. The missile landed in front of the fox. Even though it did not hit Tails directly, the force of the explosion sent him flying through the air. Sonic watched in horror as his friend landed in a forested area beyond.

He wanted so much to check on Tails, but knew someone else needed his attention. Running back towards Eggman, he spotted a pink hedgehog. Lifting her up, he didn't even look at the doctor as he ran towards the forest.

Entering it he looked around. He knew he didn't have a lot of time before the doctor came for him. "Tails!" He called. No answer. He called again, this time rewarded with a loud groan that sounded like his name.

Running in that direction, he saw a yellow tail sticking out from some undergrowth. Gently setting Amy down, he parted the leaves. A cry of pain sounded. He looked down and saw his friend's face. It was contorted in pain. "S...Sonic stop."

"What?"

"D...don't move."

"Why?"

The fox held a gloved hand up. It was covered in blood. There was a pause. The sound of Tail's ragged breathing made Sonic cringe. "There's a b...branch... I must of l...landed on it when I fell. "

Sonic's eyes widened in understanding. "You're going to be okay." An explosion not too far away, made the ground shake. Another cry escaped Tail's mouth. His eyes were clenched shut.

After a moment, the eyes opened. They looked sad. "I'm n...ot and you k...know it."

"No!" The hedgehog protested.

"Even if you c..could get me out. I'd lose too m..much b...lood before we'd get help. I also have b...roken bones to think a...about. P...plus I c...can't fly, and y...you can't carry both Amy a...and I." Sonic swallowed, frantically thinking of a plan. The fox spoke again. "I t..tried to use my...my tails to fly and soften my l...landing. It w..worked, but obviously n..not enough."

"Stop talking like that. You are going to be okay." Tails shook his head. Sonic tried to ignore it, and instead asked a question. "Why did you offer to go first?"

"I...I c..couldn't let Amy j..just die. I d..did it so y..you had more t...time to think of a plan."

"Even if you knew it could cost you your life?"

"Of course." Tails' eyes suddenly opened with alarm. "You n..eed to leave."

"What?"

"Do you hear tha..that?"

Sonic strained his ears. He heard the sound of crackling and popping. "Fire."

Tails nodded. It was obvious talking was making him tired. "The e..explosion m..must have hit a d...dead tree." His eyes fell upon Amy's unconsious figure. "Y...ou need to t...ake her and l..leave."

"I'm not leaving you behind."

"You h...have to." Tail's eyes fell closed once more.

Sonic started to panic. "Tails don't you dare die on me!"

Tails opened his eyes. They held sadness. Pity. "Run."

"No." Tears threatened to fall from Sonic's eyes. He didn't want Tail's pity. He wanted his reassurance. Reassurance that he was going to be okay. After all, he was, wasn't he?

"If n...not for your s...sake, then for A...Amy's." The fire was getting closer. Sonic had no idea where Eggman was, but really didn't care.

"Tails!"

"D..do you w...want her t...to die."

"No." It was true. The girl could be annoying but he didn't want her to die.

"I...I didn't t..think s..so

"I don't want you to die either."

"Sonic y...you can't s...save me. Not t...this time. Y...you have to understand that."

"Yes I can. I just have to figure out a plan." Sonic knew he was being irrational but could care less.

Tails rolled his eyes. "D...don't be s...stupid. I a...am dying."

"No you're not."

"Sonic," Tails said. "Admit it."

Sonic gave an odd chuckle. "Admit what?" He knew what Tails meant, but couldn't bring himself to acknowledge it.

"You k...know wh...what I mean. S...say it."

Sonic's voice raised in desperation. "No!"

"Sonic! A...admit I'm d...dying."

Tears started falling from Sonic's eyes. A cold sinking feeling washed over him. This was it. This was really happening. Sonic took a deep breath, "You're dying."

"That's better." N...now g..go. B...before it's t...too late. J...just r...run and n...never look back." Tail's tone brooked no argument. "G...goodbye Sonic."

Sonic wanted this to be a dream. A stupid dream. He knew it wasn't. Everything was painfully real. "Goodbye T...Tails."

Tails swallowed. "Will you promise me two things?"

"What?" Sonic cleared his throat.

"First, m...make sure Cre...Cream is in good hands." Sonic allowed himself a sad smile. He always knew he liked her. His heart twisted painfully. They would never see each other again. "S...second, you o...obviously won't be a...able to bury m...me," Sonic flinched at what his friend was implying, but stayed quiet. "b...but please put my g...gravestone s...somewhere where the sun shines through the trees. Somewhere that has lots of grass."

Sonic stared straight ahead. He didn't want to be having this conversation. He did not want to have to pick a place to put Tail's gravestone. He was older. It should have been he who died first. Life apparently had other plans. At the moment, life seemed to be determined to make his existence miserable. He slowly nodded. "I promise."

Tails closed his eyes and smiled. When they opened again, they were calm. They held no fear or sadness. Only peace. A peace Sonic wished he could have. In truth, Sonic's emotions were nothing but peace. He felt like he had failed Tails. The very fox he had vowed to protect from the day he met him on the beach tinkering with his plane, was now dying in front of him.

Tails seemed to read his mind. He spoke in a soft clear whisper. "Remember Sonic. Don't blame yourself. You didn't fail me. You're still a hero. After all, even the best heroes can't save everybody." With that he closed his eyes and took in a sharp breath.

"Tails?" There was no answer. "Tails?" Tears fell freely from Sonic's eyes. "Tails please answer me!" Silence greeted him. He was dead. His brother was dead. Why did life have to be so unfair? Sonic stared at his brother's face. It was so peaceful. Something you wouldn't expect to find on the face of one that had a painful death like his. It even had the ghost of a smile on it.

 _He never ceased to amaze me. Even in death._ Sonic reflected. From fixing things that nobody thought fixable, to smiling in the face of death.

He didn't want to leave, but knew he didn't have a choice. The smell of smoke, and burned wood was getting stronger. Hanging his head, he got up, picked up Amy and ran. He obeyed Tail's instructions and didn't look back.

 _Present time..._

Sonic opened his eyes. Slowly raising a hand and wiping his tears away, he shivered. He was soaked from the rain. He had to be going. A sudden realization hit him. He felt calm. The pain was still there, and would be forever, but he no longer felt the crippling sadness of loss. He had finally made peace with Tails' death.

His eyes read the words of the gravestone again. _Miles "Tails" Prower. A friend and a brother. Loved by all who met him. A hero up until the end._ It was true. He had offered to go first to save Amy. As he stood up, a strong wind came up. Sonic froze as a farmilliar sound could be heard. It sounded like a laugh. Not just any laugh. Tails' laugh. As the wind whistled through the trees, it sounded almost like a voice. "Move on with your life. Go back home to Amy and your kids. Don't worry big brother, we'll see each other again someday."

Sonic allowed a laugh to escape his mouth. Yeah, that kid never ceased to amaze him. Turning around he ran back the way he came. His house came into view. Picking up his speed, he made it to the front step writhing moments. Opening the door he slipped inside. It was around 8:30. The smell of pancakes and sausage surrounded him. His stomach growled, reminding him of his choice to forgo breakfast.

He found Amy standing in front of the stove. He cleared his throat. She turned around. "Sonic!"

"Sorry I left without telling you."

She smiled. "I'm used to it. Where did you go?"

"To Tails' grave."

Her smile turned into a frown. Concern filled her gaze. "Are you okay?"

He smiled. "Yeah I'm fine."

She looked surprised at first, but then gave him a huge smile. "Could you go see if the kids are up?" She asked, turning back to the stove.

"Sure." As he headed upstairs, he saw a picture on the wall. It was a picture of Knuckles, Amy, him, and Tails. He stared at it for a moment. Turning away, he repeated the words he had told Amy. "Yeah, I'm going to be just fine."

* * *

 **Before any of you get mad at me for killing Tails, I want to say my original plan for this story did not include having him die. The more and more I got into planning this story though, the more and more it made sense. I tried everything to avoid him dying, but** **in the end it just made more sense.**

 **With that said, thanks for the support with this story. I enjoyed writing it. If you liked this story please be on the look out for the new Sonic the Hedgehog story I'm planning. Love's Journey. You can find the summary on my profile page.**

 **Review?**


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